Regional Growth Fund

David Tredinnick Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2011 Westminster Hall

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Angela Smith) on securing the debate. I have listened to her complaints about Government strategy, but I will not dwell on those, because I am sure that the Minister, who was making notes, will have a few things to say about that.

I want to address the issue of the regional growth fund and explain why it has been fundamentally important to my Leicestershire constituency, which sits on the boundary of the east and the west midlands. The Government’s decision yesterday to grant regional growth fund second round support to the MIRA technology park will make a huge difference not just in my constituency—my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones) nods his head—but right across the midlands, because it will impact on some of the areas with the greatest problems.

The new MIRA technology park, which desperately needed regional growth fund status, was approved by Her Majesty’s Government in August. This new technology park will attract up to £300 million—perhaps more—in private investment. It is also likely to create and be responsible for up to 5,000 sustainable jobs. We can argue about the numbers—it depends on the catchment area—but it is a massive boost to industry in the heart of England. I represent the heart of England where the Fosse way crosses Watling street. We expect 200 jobs to be in place by 2013, largely based in a 43,000 square metre state-of-the art engineering centre, and a 155,000 square metre research and development facility, which will incorporate a new technology park.

[Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab)]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the importance of MIRA. I congratulate it on being successful, with the promise of RGF money, as indeed Jaguar Land Rover was a little while ago. However, does he agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Angela Smith), who said in opening the debate that the promise of money is not much use unless it is actually delivered in practice? The Government need to think about how they can deliver RGF money rather than just make promises.

[David Tredinnick]

I understand that the hon. Gentleman speaks on behalf of his motor manufacturing constituency. Obviously, there is demand for more regional growth fund support. Where we are now with the RGF is very helpful, and it is successful for reasons that I will develop.

[Mr Marcus Jones]

I am proud to have worked with my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (David Tredinnick) in promoting the MIRA enterprise zone and RGF bids. Does he agree that it shows the importance of cross-boundary working, with his constituency in the east midlands and my constituency just over the width of the A5 in the west midlands? The fact that the local enterprise partnership for Coventry and Warwickshire has strongly backed the MIRA development shows how the new system is starting to work and bear fruit.

[David Tredinnick]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who has worked tirelessly for this project. I sat with him in his council chamber—in his former chair, I think—in Nuneaton not long ago and considered these issues. We can talk about the boundaries—parish, borough, county and regional—in the areas that we represent, but the point is that the footprint of the MIRA park is enormous. It covers a very large area of the east and the west midlands—areas that desperately need help.

I will return to the subject of the debate, Mr Gray, before you call me to order. I would not want to fall foul of the Chair. There were many concerns earlier this year when MIRA did not succeed in round one of the RGF because the technology park really could not succeed without that support. We are talking about not an add-on, or bells and whistles on a machine, but part of the gearbox without which the project could not go ahead. There has been huge investment on this former bomber aerodrome site.

[Mr Jones]

I assure my hon. Friend that I will not take much more of his valuable time, but does he agree that in addition to the growth and jobs that the MIRA development will create, RGF funding will also change the physical complexion of the A5? It will therefore benefit not only the MIRA development, but the east and the west midlands, which rely heavily on the A5 corridor.

[David Tredinnick]

My hon. Friend is right. I do not want to detain the House for long as many colleagues wish to speak, but I shall refer him to correspondence that I have received from worried constituents and former councillors on transport issues such as not improving the roads, traffic flows that, when measured seem to be too great for the existing roads, and problems on the A444/A5 Red Gate junction, which he will know well. There are also other local issues such as Higham lane roundabout—all concerns about the national highway. With the second round of applications to the regional growth fund, we will solve those problems and all those roundabouts and junctions will be improved. Indeed, the roads must be improved because otherwise heavy vehicles cannot get in safely. As MIRA said, subsequent to the RGF2 bid submission, those improvements will go ahead.

MIRA technology park will receive £20 million from the regional growth fund. I spoke to MIRA’s chief executive yesterday and looked at other aspects of the scheme, and I understand from the Minister’s Department that one or two issues concerning the impact on traffic and traffic changes need to be resolved. I thought that the Department had already dealt with such matters, but I have received reassurances that such problems will not obstruct the bid. I hope that the Minister will address that concern in his response.

The huge knock-on effect of the bid will not be confined to businesses but will have a massive impact on education and apprenticeships. Another leap forward that the Government have made is to improve, invigorate and release more people into the apprenticeship structure. Astonishingly, the Labour Government never really cracked that issue over 13 years. They were always out of kilter; there were never enough plumbers or enough this or that. It was a command economy approach that did not work. We are now freeing up the economy and giving people more responsibility. [Interruption.] I love heckling, Mr Gray, and if we had the time, I could not get enough of it. Seriously, however, we are talking about important issues.

Last night representatives from further education colleges visited the House, including Marion Plant from North Warwickshire and Hinckley college. We talked about the importance of developments such as the new Hinckley campus and the studio school that will come on stream in September 2012 with design apprenticeship training, and courses in advanced engineering and health and social care. She told me that there had been 500 applications for nine places. The demand exists, and we are heading in the right direction.

Last Friday I was contacted by Radio Leicester which asked me to do an interview about the increase in the number of apprenticeships in my constituency. I have received one or two other requests in the past, and I accepted that one immediately. There has been a phenomenal increase in apprenticeships in my constituency, which embraces Hinckley and lies adjacent to Nuneaton.

In summary, for all the complaints made by the hon. Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge—and I am sure there will be many other complaints from Opposition Members—something is stirring in the heart of England. Under this Government, there are more apprenticeships, and we are allowing institutions such as North Warwickshire and Hinckley college more say about how they run their affairs. There is less top-down government. I have just come from the Health Committee. We will not go into that issue now, but the Government are trying to give more power to doctors, which I welcome. The Government are succeeding in what they are doing, and the regional growth fund is an important part of that. I congratulate the Minister and his colleagues.